U.S. Rep Mike Simpson will lead a discussion on transportation and infrastructure needs next week in a public forum at the Idaho Association of Realtors 301 S. Capitol Blvd. in Boise.

“As the United States Congress looks to address the challenge of meeting the infrastructure needs of 21st Century America, I would like to invite you to join Oregon Congressman Blumenauer and me in a discussion focusing on the funding challenges facing our nation’s aging infrastructure,” Simpson said.

The forum, scheduled for Thursday (Sept. 4) from 10 a.m. to noon, will focus on identifying transportation and infrastructure needs and discussing ideas and recommendations for addressing these needs in the future. Local elected leaders, industry stakeholders and business representatives will have the opportunity to share suggestions for funding transportation and other infrastructure systems into the future.

“Regrettably, due to time constraints, not all attendees will be able to offer direct testimony, but we will do our best to ensure as many attendees are allowed to speak as possible,” Rep. Simpson said.

ITD has been invited to participate in the forum.

The public discussion comes in the wake of a one-say transportation conference last Tuesday that included regional and national transportation leaders. It was the seventh of a series of conferences statewide that solicited public input on funding state and local transportation. (See related stories.)

Tuesday’s conference session at the Boise Centre on the Grove included Simpson, U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter, the new administrator of the Federal Highways Administration, the executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, among other speakers.